Industry 4.0 is the hype that echoes an earlier hype, that of PLM. Is that right? Or is the actual implementation of PLM starting now that the hype is over? Could the introduction of PLM be the digitization that forms the basis of Smart Industry?
66% of the manufacturing industry does not have a plan yet A survey by Staufen Academy in December 2014 showed that most respondents agreed on one thing: the future of products and of the organization active in development, production and maintenance will largely be determined by the technologies that are collectively described as Industry 4.0. It is then shocking that in the manufacturing industry about two thirds of all companies with their own engineering pay little or no attention to Industry 4.0, not even in the form of exploring and looking at applications. The remaining 33 percent consider themselves to be on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution.
The role of PLM in the context of Smart Industry From a PDM and PLM perspective, the controlling processes in an Industry 4.0-driven manufacturing industry should be based on end-to-end product data management. The ability to efficiently and effectively manage digital product data on every step in the primary process of an assignment - from development to sales, from production and commissioning to providing product-related service - has come to be known as Product Lifecycle Management or PLM since the beginning of this century. And, increasingly, PLM goes beyond the management of mechanical, geometric models and also contains the control logic, based on electrical engineering and electronics together with embedded software. In this context, PLM facilitates engineering systems and is therefore a significant part of the Industry 4.0 strategy. Logistic routings and parameters are also managed in the product data model, which makes it easy to connect to ERP and production.
PLM facilitates step to Industry 4.0
First the foundation, then build further It is a fundamental condition to manage product data in this way before the step can be taken towards the development and production of modern, smartly connected products and to compete successfully in a globalizing market. It is the most fundamental condition for a smart, integrated approach and implementation in the total digital process chain.
Leave the hype, now back to reality The reality in 2018 is that many manufacturing companies are still facing the first challenge of Smart Industry. While the hype of Industry 4.0 dominates industry news, the step towards controlled digitization of product data over the life cycle is still quite a hurdle for many companies to overcome. It is beneficial for those who have let the PLM hype by and now that this step is ready to take, is that there are PLM systems that are tested and ready for rapid implementation and therefore accessible and affordable for both the OEM and the supply chain in the SME sector.
“The time is now for SMEs to move to PLM. They are served at their back and call with solutions aimed at SMEs. ”
"Is the actual implementation of PLM starting now that the hype is over?"